Rotary engine, compressor, and exhauster



Sept. 10, 1929. c 5, BARRETT ROTARY ENGINE, COMPRESSOR, AND EXHAUSTER Filed Feb. 12, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet, l

Sept. 10, 1929. c. G. BARRETT ROTARY ENGINE, COMPRESSOR, AND EXHAUSTER Filed Feb. 12, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 10, 1929.

UNITE]? STATES} CHldRLES G. BARRETT, OF SHOREWOOD, WISCONSIN.

ROTARY ENGINE, COMPRESSOR, AND EXHAUS'IER.

Application filed February 12, 1927. Serial No. 167,802.

This invention has reference to engines, compressors and exhausters of the type wherein the air, gas or other fluid movement is ett'ected by blades or vanes carried by a rotating member. the moveinent of the ends of said blades or vanes being controlled by a guide surface eccentrieally located with relation to the center of the driving shaft.

Ordinarily, in engines, compressors or exhausters of this general type, the blades or vanes are carried in radial slots formed in a rotating drum and are held by centrifugal force against an cccentrically disposed surface at their outer ends, thus causing the blades to move radially inwardly and outwardly the said drum rotates. This action causes a very considerable friction loss due to the movement of the blade or. vane ends against the guiding surface and to the radial motion of the blades in the drum slots.

To reduce these undesirable and excessive friction losses, the present form of engine, compressor or exhauster is designed with blades orvanes pivoted in ball bearings carried by the rotating member, thereby practi ally eliminating all frictional losses caused by relative motion between the blades or vanes and the driving member.

In addition, the motion of the blades or vanes as caused by centrifugal force is guided or controlled by contact at their innor ends with an eccentrically disposed surface, thereby reducing relative motion between the blades or vanes and guide surface to a minimum.

Other objects and advantages of the-incntion will be manifest from the detailed disclosure of the construction and mode of operation of the several elements composing the engine, compressor or exhauster.

The invention consists of structural charactcristics and relative arrangements of the several parts which will be hereinafter more fully disclosed and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the two sheets of drawings, in. which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in the several figures;

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view of the engine, compressor or exhauster taken on line I-I of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line II1I-of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view partly in elevation taken on line III-JR of Figure 2; and

Figure at is a perspective view of one of the blades or vanes.

Referring to the drawings, is the stationary casing of the engine, compressor or exhaustcr provided with an inlet chamber 1 and a discharge chamber 12, and a suction seal surface 13 and a discharge seal surface 14.

End cover plates or heads 15, 15, are secured by any suitable means, such as bolts 16, 16, to the ends of said stationary casing 10, as shown, and are provided with openings 17, 17, in which are inserted ball bearings 18 which support the rotating or driving shaft 19. The inner sides of the cover plates or heads 15, 15, are also provided with flanges or shoulders 20 on which are seated eccentrically arranged ball bearings 21, 21, which support the eccentrically disposed drum 22, as will be presently more fully described.

End discs 23, 23, are rigidly attached and held in position by nuts 24, 24, on the shaft 1.) and carry the ball bearings 25, 25,

which rotatably support the bearing spindles 26, 26, of the blades or vanes 27, 27.

The end discs 23, 23, are provided with clearance openings or holes 28, 28, through which extend or project feet or lugs 29, 29, formed on the drum 2'2, and of such contour and proportion as to have their outer curved or arc-shaped surfaces engage the ball bearings 21, 21, which bearings rotatably support said eccentrically mounted drum 22 and permit the drum 22 to rotate with the end discs 23, 23, but is free to move or float aboutits own center which is eccentric to the center of rotation of the discs 23, 23, and shaft 19.

As will be seen. from the drawings, the blades or vanes 27, 27. are so proportioned and pivoted or journaled in their bearings 25, 25, in such a manner that the centrifugal force due to rotation of said blades or vanes about the axis of the driving shaft 19, will cause the blades or vanes 27, 27, to rotate on their respective bearings 25, 25, so that the longer portion 30 of the vane or blade from the bearing tip 31 (see Figures '1 and 1), will tend to fly outward and allow the inner tip 32 to be held in contact with the guide surface 33 formed by the outer periphery of the eccentrically disposed drum 22. Therefore, as the end discs 23, 23, are rotated, the outer tips 31, 31, of the blades or vanes 27, 27, will describe 'a fixed path determined or controlled by the guiding action of the surface 33 on the inner tips 32 of the blades and the suction and discharge seal surfaces 13 and 14 of the casing 10 must conform to this path, providing only such mechanical working clearance as may be necessary or desirable.

The general action of the guide surface 33 formed by the drum 22 in controllingthe motion of the rotating blades or vanes 27, 27, isto cause the clearance volume enclosed by any pair of blades 27, 27, the drum 22, and an enveloping surface, such as would be formed by a continuation of sealing surfaces 13 and 14, to vary from a maximum to a minimum value and then back to a maximum once every revolution of the driving shaft 19. It is only necessary, however, that this enveloping surface shall be formed at the positions of maximum and minimum clearance volumes and of suflicient length circumferentially to seal adjacent blade tips in their respective positions. The suction seal surface 13 is therefore so located that the volume between any pair of adjacent vanes or blades 27, drum 22, suction surface 13 and end discs 23, 23, is approximately a maximum as the outer tip 31 of the following blade 27 crosses the leading edge of suction seal surface 13. Similarly, the dis charge seal surface 14 is located at the position of minimum clearance volume, thereby causing the greater portion of the air, gas, or other fluid charge received from the inlet chamber 11 and entrapped between the blades or vanes 27 at the ,position of maximum clearance volume to be ejected into the discharge chamber 12.

From the foregoing disclosure of the construction and relation of the several parts and the manner of their cooperation, it will be seen that all the objects and advantages recited in the statement of invention have been fully and efiiciently carried out, and while I have shown and described the preferred form of the invention many changes or modifications will readily suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention, as expressed in the claims. What I claim is: 1. In a machine of the character described,

spindle 26 to the outer the combination of a stationary casing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, an end plate or cover on each end of said casing having a shaft bearing and a second bearing surroundingsaid shaft bearing and eccentrically disposed with respect: to the axis of said shaft bearing, a rotary shaft supported in said shaft bearings in the plates or covers, a driving member consisting of separated discs having openings or clearances and within the casing and secured to and rotating with said shaft, a series of hearings on said discs circularly diposed with respect to the axis of said shaft, blades having movable inner and outer tips and supported in said series of bearings, a rotatable drum within the driving member and havin lugs extending through the openings or c ea-rances in said separated discs of the driving member and resting on the eccentrically disposed second bearings in the end plates or covers and provided with an exterior guide surface adapted to be frictionally engaged by the movable inner ends of said blades.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a stationary casing provided with inner suction and discharge seal' surfaces and having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, an end plate or cover on each end of said casing having a shaft-bearing and a second bearing surrounding said shaft bearing and eccentrically disposed with respect to the axis of said shaft bearing, a rotary shaft supported in said shaft bearings in the plates or covers, a driving member consisting of separated discs having openings or clearances and within the casing and secured, to and rotating with said shaft, a series of bearings on said discs circularly disposed with respect to the axis of said shaft, blades having movable inner and outer tips and supported by said series of bearings, said outer tips of the blades adapted to move in juxtaposition to said seal surfaces, a rotatable drum within the driving member and having lugs extending through the openings or clearances in said separated discs of the driving member and resting on the eccentrically disposed second hearings in the end plates or covers and provided with an exterior guide surface adapted to be frictionally engaged by the movable inner ends of said la es.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a stationary casing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, a rotary shaft,-two plates mounted on and rotating with said shaft, blades having inner and outer tips and mounted in bearings carried by said plates so that said blades are pivoted to turn about axes parallel to the axis of the rotary shaft, and an eccentrically mounted drum within the casing having a cy lindrical guiding surface at all times frictionally engaged by the inner tips of the blades in order to control the oscillation of the blades about their respective axes and at the same time prevent contact between the outer blade tips and the stationary casing.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a stationary casing having an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber, a rotary shaft, two plates mounted on and rotating with said shaft, blades having inner and outer tips and mounted in bearings carried. by said plates 50 that said blades are pivoted to turn about axes parallel to the axis of the rotary shaft, and an eccentrically mounted drum Within the casing having a cylindrical guiding surface at all times frictionally engaged by the inner tips of the blades in order to control the oscillation of the blades about their respective axes and at the same time prevent contact between the outer blade tips and the stationary casing, said cylindrical drum being mechanically interlocked with said plates attached to the driving shaft so that both rotating elements must turn simultaneously and at the same rotative speed.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix niy signature.

CHARLES G. BARRETT. 

